Prevention and Control of Communicable Diseases - Missouri ...

July 2011
HEPATITIS B
Reportable to local or state health department
This fact sheet is for provider information only.
If you have questions, please call the health department.
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PROVIDER
It is rare for children to be infected with hepatitis B with the exception of those children infected by their
mothers during pregnancy or childbirth. These children may have a lifelong infection (chronic infection).
Children who have chronic hepatitis B infection may be attending childcare or school; however, spread of
hepatitis B in these settings is very rare.
CAUSE Hepatitis B virus.
SYMPTOMS Loss of appetite, tiredness, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, dark (tea or
cola-colored) urine, light-colored fecess, and sometime rash or joint pain. Jaundice
(yellowing of eyes or skin) may be present in adults but it is uncommon in young
children. Symptoms vary greatly from none at all to severe illness. Adults have
symptoms more often than children.
SPREAD Virus is present in the blood and other body fluids that may contain blood. It can
be spread person-to-person when blood from an infected person enters an open cut
or splashes into the eye or mouth of another person, by sharing any equipment to
inject drugs or puncture the skin, such as tattooing or body piercing, or through
sexual contact. Although virus can be found in saliva, the amount of virus in the
saliva is so low that spread is very unlikely. It can also be spread from a mother to
her baby during pregnancy or childbirth.
INCUBATION It takes from 6 weeks to 6 months, usually 2 to 3 months, from the time a person is
exposed to hepatitis B virus until disease occurs.
CONTAGIOUS
PERIOD
May be infectious for many weeks before onset of symptoms and remain infectious
for 4 to 6 months. Some people may have chronic hepatitis B infection and may
be infectious for life.
EXCLUSION Children with Hepatitis B infection should not be excluded from school, childcare,
or other group care settings solely based on their Hepatitis B infection. Any child,
regardless of known Hepatitis B status, who has a condition such as oozing sores
that cannot be covered, bleeding problems, or unusually aggressive behavior (e.g.,
biting) that cannot be controlled may merit assessment by the child’s health
professional and the child care program director or school principal to see whether
the child may attend while the condition is present.
DIAGNOSIS Hepatitis B can be diagnosed through blood tests.
TREATMENT Recommend parents/guardians call their healthcare provider.
PREVENTION/CONTROL
� All children should receive the three dose hepatitis B vaccine series as part of
their routine immunizations.